The present invention relates to an arrangement for a cargo handling system which is arranged for use on board a ship.
The principle of dividing up various cargo decks into different lanes by marking the lanes with paint on the deck is previously known on board ships. Also previously disclosed is the principle of setting out loose lateral dividers in the form of beams on the ship""s deck in some cases. Also previously disclosed through Swedish Patent Application SE 9600632-5 is the principle of causing trailers to be secured to ships by the use of trailer supports to lock them by means of locking devices to existing slots recessed into the deck.
When a cargo carried by a cargo carrier which is being transported between the land and a ship by means of a so-called AGV (automated guided vehicle), i.e. a cargo exchanger which is a self-propelled, self-navigating vehicle so arranged, on the one hand, as to be driven entirely individually, and so arranged, on the other hand, that a number of cargo exchangers can be connected together to form a train to provide increased capacity, such as when the freight placed on standardized cassettes has arrived at a terminal next to the ship, the aforementioned cargo exchangers, which exhibit hoisting devices for the purpose of raising and lowering their height, can then drive in under the cassette concerned and lift it and drive on board the ship. This presents problems in conjunction with the ability to stow the items closely and securely, and also with the ability to secure cassettes and trailers safely to the ship without unnecessary waste of space in the longitudinal sense.
The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the first instance, to attempt to solve the aforementioned problems and to be able to increase speed and safety in conjunction with transport on the ship in question along the intended lanes without the need to modify the ships.
The aforementioned object is achieved by means of an arrangement in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that long lane dividers, which are in the form of profiles and are so arranged as to be laid out on the deck of a ship along the longitudinal extent of the intended desired loading lane at a lateral distance from one another, exhibit means for the attachment of the lane dividers to the deck, in that the aforementioned means of attachment are formed by attachment devices matching existing standard openings in the deck and capable of being introduced vertically into these, so that a suitable cargo, for example a cargo trailer or cargo cassettes, can be driven in and accommodated between these, and in that at least a number of the aforementioned lane dividers exhibit recesses to accommodate locking devices for the purpose of locking a cargo securely to them and/or in that a number of the aforementioned lane dividers exhibit laterally mobile locking devices for the purpose of locking the aforementioned cargo securely in place.